‘For TB-free India, early diagnosis, shorter treatment span must’
LUCKNOW: Over two million cases of tuberculosis are reported in India every year and around three lakh people succumb to the disease. These facts were shared by director of CSIR Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh, Anil Kaul, at an event here on Saturday.
“A study shows that more men are affected by TB than women,” he said while speaking at the 67th annual day celebration of the CSIR Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI).
“Childhood cases of TB are reported in 7% cases, while pulmonary TB affects men in the age group of 50-60 years. TB is an old disease. There are evidences of the disease in Egyptian mummies. However, in the past 40 years, only two new drugs have been invented,” said Kaul, delivering the 43rd Sir Edward Mellanby Memorial Oration.
He highlighted the key reasons for increase in TB and multi-drug resistant TB cases. “These are under-nutrition, alcohol intake, smoking, indoor and outdoor pollution, overcrowding and occupational health hazards such as those faced by people working in silica, cement and other mining industries,” he said.
Kaul said that to make India TB-free , early diagnosis, more effective drugs and shorter treatment spans were necessary. “We have to work hard to make India TB-free by 2035,” he said.
He also spoke on the merits of new MDR TB medicines. “Several new drugs like Bedaquiline have been tested on humans in Africa. Now, India too has got conditional permission to use it. It can prove to be a boon for MDR TB patients,” said Kaul, adding that each year, 4.8 million people worldwide contracted MDR TB, which was difficult to cure.
FACILITY INAUGURATED
To create a platform for drug discovery and development in collaboration with academia and industry, CSIR-CDRI has set up ‘Advanced Platform for Research and Innovation’ (AMRIT). On the occasion of the annual day, Dr Girish Sahni, DG, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, inaugurated the facility. The technology platforms available here will be deployed for research in areas of communicable and non-communicable diseases and reproductive health.